In a variety of fields and more particularly and importantly in the construction field, there exist a variety of planar objects (e.g., siding, plywood, window panes and drywall layers) which must be frequently moved and/or transported from one location to another. These planar objects present difficulties to a person who manually tries to transport and/or move them. Planar objects typically do not have areas and or portions which are amenable to gripping by a human hand. A person attempting to manually transport a planar object such as drywall must often assume both awkward bodily positions and strenuous hand positions to move and/or transport the planar object. These awkward bodily positions and strenuous hand positions can injure the person moving the planar object and, further, that person runs the risk of dropping and/or damaging such planar object. Consequently, there exists a need for carrying devices and/or assemblies which allow a person to more simply and efficiently carry one or more planar objects without having to assume strenuous bodily positions.
Although prior carrying assemblies have been designed to carry planar objects, these prior assemblies suffer from drawbacks. Particularly, prior art assemblies have been designed such that only very limited surface area of the carrying assembly actually contacts the planar object that is being transported and/or carried. These limited contact areas must support the entire planar objects that are being transported and, therefore, substantial pressure must be applied to these limited contact areas to secure the carrying assembly to the planar object. The pressure applied may damage the planar object especially if the planar object is made of materials that are less resistant to force and/or pressure, for example and without limitation, those materials that compose commercially available and conventional drywall or gypsum board.
Furthermore, planar objects come in a variety of thicknesses (i.e., those distances between two planar surfaces of one planar object) which must be accommodated by the carrying assembly used to carry and/or transport a particular planar object. Consequently, a carrying device must easily and/or automatically adjust so that a user of a particular carrying device can quickly and efficiently lift and/or elevate planar objects which have varying widths.
There is therefore a need for a carrying assembly which supports a planar object and/or sheet material, wherein the assembly contacts a large surface area of the planar object, wherein the carrying assembly can accommodate planar objects having a variety of thicknesses and wherein the user of the carrying device is not subject to strenuous bodily positions when using the device.